Usage of minimum and maximum

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  • WhereIsPJSoles
    WhereIsPJSoles Posts: 622 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Here's one that i don't understand, and that's how people use the word "several". Several of anything is THREE, people tend to use it to describe anything more than One thing. For some reason it really gets on my nerves!!!!

    But ‘several’ could also be four or five.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Is minimum and maximum used differently across cultures? For me, "minimum" can mean both "as much as" AND "more than", and "maximum" means "as much as" AND "less than". In here, I'm often corrected when I recommend a weekly weight loss rate of "no more than 1% of your body weight", and several people chime in to suggest that that number is too high unless you are obese. Yesterday, I said that a food scale should have a capacity of at least one kg, and then two people said that "this may not be enough".

    I have never been impressed or convinced by phrases like Chewing Gum Removes up to 100 Million Bacteria. It could mean "removes nothing at all", too.

    I find this interesting, so I'm curious if anyone has run across the same, and/or has any insight.

    How you say it makes sense to me. I wouldnt be going around correcting you..

    Here's one that i don't understand, and that's how people use the word "several". Several of anything is THREE, people tend to use it to describe anything more than One thing. For some reason it really gets on my nerves!!!!

    Several is not 2, but it's not 3 to me either. (3 might be "a few." 2 is "a couple.")
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    WhereIsPJSoles wrote: »
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Here's one that i don't understand, and that's how people use the word "several". Several of anything is THREE, people tend to use it to describe anything more than One thing. For some reason it really gets on my nerves!!!!

    But ‘several’ could also be four or five.

    Several or a few is 3. A couple is 2. That's all I've ever known those words to mean, but it seems the meaning has changed over the years.

  • OldHobo
    OldHobo Posts: 647 Member
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    I remember arguments over "several." I was five, and again when my kids were five. :)
    Relevant entries from Merriam Webster:
    1. more than one; as in several pleas
    2. more than two but fewer than many; as in moved several inches
    But following MW's link for English Language learners and link for children, the most common definition is:
    • more than two but not very many.
    However, in my experience from either side, reference to a dictionary never won an argument with a five-year-old.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    Minimum is the lowest/least, maximum is the highest/most, those are the only definitions I've ever heard.
  • HellYeahItsKriss
    HellYeahItsKriss Posts: 906 Member
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    I don't consider several to be 3.. 3 or 4 is a few to me and then 5+ would be several.

    2 is a couple.
  • counting_kilojoules
    counting_kilojoules Posts: 170 Member
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    A few and a couple are both just a small number of things of an indeterminate number. Several is more than two but is likewise a small number.

    https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/few
    https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/couple
    https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/several
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    4 or 5 is what I think of as several too -- more than a few, but a number where you could count it (and probably recount the individual examples). Many (or lots) is like generally enough that you aren't sure what the exact number is, it all blends together, but it's not a really tiny number like 2 or 3.

    But it's also inherently inexact, so this is a funny discussion.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    My understanding of minimum is that it is the lowest amount or level of something. Maxiumum is the highest amount or level of something. You can have more than the minimum but not less. You can not have more than the maximum but can have anything below it. Between a minimum and maximum would be a range.
    If you say "at least" I would understand that I could have a higher amount but not below that. If you say "no more than" I would understand that to be the upper limit or maximum.

    The maximum safe occupancy of my car in operation is 5 people. The minimum is 1 person. Just 2, 3, or 4 people is also fine so the range is 1-5 people. If I say I can give up to 4 people a ride I think most people undertand that is the maximum.
    If you ignore safety or comfort you could probably fit several more people in the car but I don't know the exact number. It might be 3 or it might be 10 more. I understand several in that case as more than 2 but not more than 10. I would be surprised if someone said several when there were 20 people trying to fit into my car. In relationship to the car that would be many people not several. I think what several is depends on the situation and size of group.
    If I hear someone say that there were several cases of the flu in a city then I would understand that to be a small percentage of the population in a city of over 100,000 people. In that case 3 sick people would be a few compared to the total population but probably not yet several. Several might be more than 10 but less than 50. A news reporter or doctor might use the word differently than I would in that scenario.




  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
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    If
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Is minimum and maximum used differently across cultures? For me, "minimum" can mean both "as much as" AND "more than", and "maximum" means "as much as" AND "less than"
    Not that I'm aware. A slight re-wording: Minimum means no fewer than (a floor), but implies larger values (minimum wage, minimum safe distance). Maximum means no more than (a ceiling), but implies smaller values (maximum pressure, maximum thermal conductivity). The onus is on the speaker to convey implication of range in context rather than rely on the reader to infer.

    For example. Most cyclists run tires at max pressure (limited by the rim). The implied range of values below that maximum is largely irrelevant. Same with speed limits. As it follows with weight loss: what's the most or least? The implication of range is generally beyond the scope of context.

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